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| National Congresses RNRF
conducts national congresses. These national meetings provide
an interdisciplinary forum for representatives of RNRF's member
organizations and others.
PRIOR
NATIONAL
CONGRESSES:
Congress on Environmental Science Issues Facing the U.S. Congress and Natural Resources Agencies (conducted at American Geophysical Union conference facility, Washington, D.C.) (2006). Sponsored by the U.S. Geological Survey, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and USDA Forest Service. For more information, visit the congress web site at http://www.rnrf.org/2006cong Congress
on Assessing
and Mitigating Environmental Impacts of Emerging Contaminants (conducted at American Geophysical Union conference
facility, Washington,
D.C.) (2005). Sponsored by the U.S. Geological
Survey.
Additional support provided by the U.S.
Food and Drug Administration. For more
information, visit the congress web site at http://www.rnrf.org/2005cong Building Capacity for Coastal Solutions
(conducted at American Geophysical Union conference facility,
Washington, D.C.)
hosted by American Geophysical Union (2004). Sponsored
by: National
Oceanic
and Atmospheric Administration, U.S.
Geological Survey, USDA Forest
Service, and U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency. For more
information, visit the congress web site at http://www.rnrf.org/2004cong Federal Agency Personnel Trends, Budget
Stringencies, Challenges to Higher Education, and Evolving Roles of
Natural Resources Agencies (conducted at
American Association
for the Advancement of Science conference facility,
Washington,
D.C.) hosted by and conducted in association with the AAAS (2003). Sponsored
by: U.S.
Geological Survey, National
Oceanic
and Atmospheric Administration, and USDA Forest
Service. For
more information, visit the conference web site at http://www.rnrf.org/2003conf Control of Nonpoint Source Water Pollution:
Options and Opportunities (conducted at Radisson Plaza Lord
Baltimore, Baltimore, Maryland) hosted by
Department of Natural Resource Sciences and Landscape Architecture,
University of Maryland (2002). Sponsored by:
National
Oceanic
and Atmospheric Administration, U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency, and USDA Forest
Service. Additional support provided by: U.S.
Geological Survey, USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, and
U.S. Bureau of Land Management.
For more information, visit the congress
web site at http://www.rnrf.org/2002congress Promoting
Sustainability in the 21st Century (conducted
at DoubleTree Hotel Janzen Beach,
Portland,
Oregon) Hosted by the College of Forestry,
Oregon State University and
the
College of Forest Resources, University of Washington (2000). Themes: 1)
Utilizing regional
approaches to land allocation and use, and 2) Identifying evolving
roles and educational
needs
of natural resources professionals). Sponsored
by: U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency, U.S.
Geological Survey, USDA Forest
Service, and U.S. Bureau of Land Management.
Additional support provided by: USDA Natural Resources Conservation
Service, National
Oceanic
and Atmospheric Administration, and Weyerhaeuser Company
Foundation. The congress report is available for purchase at the
"Publications" link. Reports of all congresses are available for
purchase at nominal cost. See our Publications web page for details.
Washington
Round Table on Public Policy Legislative and Public Policy Briefings International
Activities
The Sustained Achievement Award recognizes a long-term contribution and commitment to the protection and conservation of natural resources by an individual. The Outstanding Achievement Award recognizes a project, publication, piece of legislation, or similar concrete accomplishment that occurred during the three years prior to nomination for the award. (An individual cannot receive this award.) RNRF's Excellence in Journalism Award, established in 2001, honors and encourages excellence in print journalism about natural resources. RNRF seeks to advance public education and understanding of important natural resource issues through the dissemination of accurate and scientifically-based information about the environment. The award recognizes work by an individual, group, or organization for print media (such as a book, on-line report, or article/feature in a newspaper, magazine, journal, or newsletter). Sustained Achievement Award Recipients 1992 - Gilbert F. White, Boulder, Colorado Outstanding Achievement Award Recipients 1992 - Water Resources Education Initiative
(accepted by a consortium of nonprofits and federal agencies) Excellence in Journalism Award Recipients 2001 - Bay Journal, Karl
Blankenship,
editor; Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay, publisher Recipients of Chairman's Award for Professional Service to the Foundation 2001 - Albert A. Grant, Public Interest
Member of RNRF Board of Directors, Potomac, Maryland Call for 2009 Nominations Outstanding and Sustained Achievement Awards Selection
Criteria
William Matuszeski Receives 2008 Sustained Achievement Award During 13 years at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Matuszeski served as executive director of National Marine Fisheries Service, director of Private Sector Initiatives, and deputy assistant administrator of Ocean Services and Coastal Zone Management. He then moved to the Environmental Protection Agency where he worked for several years as associate assistant administrator for Water. In November 1991, Matuszeski became director of EPA's Chesapeake Bay Program Office. The Chesapeake Bay Program is the federal-state partnership responsible for the restoration of the bay watershed and includes the states of Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia and the District of Columbia. He facilitated collaborative approaches among EPA, NOAA, USDA Forest Service, U.S. Geological Survey, U.S. Park Service and the Department of Defense. Multiple state agencies and universities also participated in bay restoration research and implementation. These efforts culminated in the signing of Chesapeake 2000 by the governors of the region, the mayor of Washington, DC and the EPA Administrator. Since retiring in 2001, Matuszeski has continued to contribute by serving on the boards of the Center for Watershed Protection, Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay, and Hudson River Foundation. The award was presented at the annual meeting of the RNRF Board of Directors on November 3, 2008, in Potomac, Maryland. Louisiana's Comprehensive Master Plan for a Sustainable Coast Receives 2008 Outstanding Achievement Award Hurricanes Katrina and Rita dramatically emphasized the need to improve Louisiana’s hurricane protection systems and restore the coastal wetlands upon which so much of our national economy depends. Recognizing the urgency, the state, early in 2006, established an interagency, multi-disciplinary team charged with delivering a comprehensive Master Plan for Louisiana’s coast. In an unprecedented move, state agencies assigned expert staff full-time to form the Integrated Planning Team, physically relocating them to dedicated "war room" workspace for focused, intensive planning efforts. With a target delivery date of just over a year, the team effectively built on previous work and other ongoing planning efforts, both maximizing outreach efforts and assuring use of the most up-to-date scientific data. America’s WETLAND Foundation assisted with gathering input and feedback from the university and international science communities by providing summits and roundtable discussions of planning options. In the spring of 2007, following months of intensive public involvement, outreach and education, the Comprehensive Coastal Master Plan was delivered on time and won unanimous approval by the Louisiana Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority (CPRA), four state legislative committees, and both chambers of the Louisiana Legislature. Additionally, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers publicly committed to the State's Master Plan being the basis for all Corps protection and restoration in Louisiana. Development of the Master Plan also prompted Louisianans to overwhelming approve two constitutional amendments to dedicate revenue (including from future offshore oil and gas production) to coastal restoration and protection. This support was achieved because the State's planning process provided an open forum allowing input at an unprecedented scale. The planning process engaged stakeholders, including the planning, scientific, and engineering communities; elected officials; local, state and federal agency representatives; and the pubic in an unparalleled cooperative effort that has resulted in a national model of coastal sustainability. The resulting Master Plan recognizes a sustainable landscape is a prerequisite for storm protection and ecological restoration. For the first time the two previously separated charges of hurricane protection and coastal restoration have been integrated into one comprehensive plan, encouraging the focus of scientific research on "big picture" issues, including how much sediment is available to be moved, climate change, sea level rise impacts, and utilizing natural processes to ensure sustainability. Also for the first time, a coast-wide framework is provided to direct local, state and federal funds to projects that meet immediate environmental needs and have long-term benefits. Continued success of the plan will be achieved by a key component – adaptive management – allowing the plan to appropriately incorporate changes during design, implementation, and operation of its features; adapting as science and technology advance. The Master Plan recognizes the need to increase awareness and use of non-structural protection measures; to improve land-use planning, zoning and permitting; and to foster the sustainability of coastal forests. The master plan is available for downloading at http://www.lacpra.org/ The award was presented at the annual meeting of the RNRF Board of Directors on November 3, 2008, in Potomac, Maryland. The Des Moines Register's "Fueling Iowa's Future: Biofuels" Receives 2008 Excellence in Journalism Award ![]() RNRF has selected The Des Moines Register’s "Fueling Iowa’s Future: Biofuels" to receive its Excellence in Journalism Award. The award honors and encourages excellence in print journalism about natural resources issues through the dissemination of accurate and scientifically-based information about the environment. "Fueling Iowa’s Future" was published over seven special sections and online during 2007. It involved sophisticated First Amendment reporting, data analysis, investigative work, and layering of online-multimedia information. Using numerous open record requests and computer-assisted reporting, the Register uncovered numerous findings about ethanol's economic, environmental and political impact on the state (and the nation). Reporting for the series was strongly scientifically-based, comprehensive, and fearless. The series sets a national standard for environmental reporting. The online version of the series in available at http://www.desmoinesregister.com/apps/pbcs.dll/section?Category=biofuels The award was presented at the annual meeting of the RNRF Board of Directors on November 3, 2008, in Potomac, Maryland. Fry, Jones, Metz and Walker Receive Chairman's Award for Service to the Foundation ![]() Pictured above: (front, l-r) Robert Metz, Enos Fry, (back row, l-r) Larry Walker, John Marvin Jones II The Chairman's Award for Professional Service to the Foundation recognizes the significant contributions of RNRF's volunteers in advancing its purposes and activities. Recipients of the 2008 award are board members of the RNRF Title Holding Corporation. The title holding corporation was established in 1996 to provide advice and direction for the management, marketing and development of the 35.4-acre Renewable Natural Resources Center. Revenues derived from real estate have contributed significantly to the funding of RNRF's programs, conferences, and publications. Receiving the award: Enos Fry is a distinguished member of the banking community of the greater Washington area. Presently, he is a senior group manager for Provident Bank. John Marvin Jones II is a seasoned real estate professional, knowledgeable in all aspects of brokerage and development. Formerly with Grubb and Ellis, Jones is the principal of JM Jones & Associates of McLean, Virginia. Robert Metz, RNRF’s legal counsel since 1982, began his volunteer service as a title holding corporation director in July 2001. Metz is a retired partner with the law firm of Linowes and Blocher in Bethesda, Maryland. Larry Walker is an experienced and talented real estate professional. He is the principal of The Walker Group of Bethesda, Maryland. The award was presented at the annual meeting of the RNRF Board of Directors on November 3, 2008, in Potomac, Maryland. 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